Dhaka, Feb. 12 -- Global rights campaigners have raised concerns that excessive employer influence over operations of RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), the factory safety body, is weakening its effectiveness and endangering workers.

The RSC was set up in 2020 to take over the responsibility from the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which had been working to improve workplace safety in the country's readymade garment (RMG) sector. This initiative was launched following the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed over 1,100 workers and injured thousands more.

The rights groups -- Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN) -- also called for restructuring the R...